Pohang win but Gamba struggle

Defending champions Pohang Steelers put their AFC Champions League challenge back on track Wednesday with a narrow 2-1 victory, but Japanese powerhouse Gamba Osaka were held 1-1 at home.

South Korea’s Pohang regained their winning touch after a surprise loss to Adelaide United last week, with a dramatic last few minutes against Japan’s Sanfrecce Hiroshima at the Steelyard.

Pohang looked comfortable after skipper Hwang Jae-Won put them in front with a powerful header on 54 minutes but Sanfrecce defender Tomoaki Makino was brought down in the box with just one minute left.

Bulgarian defender Ilian Stoyanov stepped up to convert the penalty but Sanfrecce lost concentration and Pohang struck back in injury time when Brazilian forward Almir prodded home a rebound from a Kim Jae-Sung free kick.

In Osaka, 2008 champions Gamba were held by China’s Henan Jianye, leaving them with just two points from two games after losing last week to Suwon Bluewings.

It was a disappointing effort from a team that was desperate to assert itself after losing in the J-League over the weekend.

Zhang Lu gave the visitors the lead after four minutes when he proved quickest to react after goalkeeper Atsushi Kimura failed to gather a shot from Senegalese forward Amado Dialo.

The scores were levelled when striker Lucas was hacked down in the penalty area, with the Brazilian dusting himself off to convert the spot kick 10 minutes before the break.

Gamba threw everything they had at Henan in the second half but the Chinese defence held solid.

The other match in the group saw Korea’s Suwon Bluewings beat a 10-man Singapore Armed Forces 2-0, with superb goals from Brazilians Juninho and Jose Mota capping an accomplished display.

In Group H, Adelaide swept to an impressive 2-0 victory over Shandong Luneng in China with goals in each half from Sergio van Dijk and Matthew Leckie.

Dutchman Van Dijk opened the scoring on 28 minutes after getting on the end of a Lucas Pantelis cross at the back post to head home.

Leckie doubled their lead 20 minutes from the end when the youngster met Scott Jamieson’s corner unchallenged with a flying header that bounced over the line.

It was the A-League side’s second consecutive victory to leave them on top of their group.

In-form Saudi outfit Al Shabab took charge of Group C by defeating previous leaders Pakhtakor 3-0 in the Uzbek capital Tashkent, with Angola international striker Flavio on target twice in the second half.

In the other group game, Iranian giants Sepahan were held to a 0-0 draw in front of their home fans by UAE representatives Al Ain, winners of the inaugural AFC Champions League in 2003.

Elsewhere, Saudi side Al Hilal should beat Iran’s Mes Kerman in Riyadh in Group D after Eric Gerets? side trounced Al Sadd 3-0 in their opener last month.

Hilal, who secured the 2009-10 Saudi league title in January, are among the tournament favourites following a superb season under Gerets, who joined them last summer from French giants Marseille.

Al Ahli, who are having a disappointing domestic season, host Al Sadd in the group’s other fixture.